Rematch vs. Cardinals give Russell Wilson a chance to gauge progress

No one is going to argue that Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson has been playing much better of late than he did early in the season, but his hot streak will be put to the test this week against the Arizona. As much of a disaster as the Cardinals have been on offense, they are still a pretty darn good team defensively, especially against the pass where they rank third in the league, allowing just 196.1 passing yards per game. Part of that success has come because of a talented secondary, but it also has a lot to do with a dangerous pass rush that presented a lot of problems for the Seahawks in their Week 1 loss in Arizona.

“They send the house at you,” said fullback Michael Robinson. “I’m sure they’ll have a pretty good scheme for us. We just have to adjust.”

Added offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell: “Their defense is outstanding. They have really good players first of all, but the scheme really causes problems for an offense. Whatever is going on on offense, the defense has kept them in every one of the games. They have a great pressure scheme. They pressure, then the pressure some more, then they pressure some more… That’s really the big question we have to answer this week.”

Wilson, as well as Seattle’s offensive line, are much better prepared to handle the likes of Darnell Dockett than they were three months ago, but they will still have their hands full. The challenge of facing Arizona’s defense, and of facing a team for the second time, is one Wilson is embracing this week.

“I’m definitely looking forward to it,” he said. “It’s a new challenge that I’m looking forward to for sure. The first time out, I wish I could have done something to win that game there at Arizona. Now it’s the second go around at it, so you have to figure out what you did well, what you didn’t do so well, figure out what they did really well, and figure out how we can attack them.”

“I think I’m 12 times more prepared. I just feel so much more confident out there, understanding what they’re trying to do. And just getting used to the speed of the game, playing live games really helps.”